Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto

Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto…A popular ramen restaurant that opened in April 2023 in Shijo-Karasuma, Kyoto, based on owner Hiroshi Hiraoka’s desire to “gather ingredients from all over Japan to create the best ramen”. This store is also a branch of Japanese Ramen Noodle Lab Q, a very famous ramen restaurant in Sapporo, and was created to introduce Japanese ramen to the world, with a different concept from that of Nippon Ramen Rin Tokyo, which opened earlier in Tokyo.

What kind of ramen can you expect at Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto? With great anticipation, I dropped by the restaurant on my way home from work. I was a little late because my work was delayed, so I headed to the restaurant thinking that there might already be a long line….

The atmosphere of the restaurant is “Rin (Dignified)” itself…Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto is a restaurant like this…

I arrived at Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto a little past 6:00 pm on September 27, 2024. I had heard rumors that there was a long line to get in, but at this point, there was not only a long line, but also a few empty seats in the restaurant, and I easily entered the restaurant without any wait. I had decided to visit the restaurant on that day to avoid the queue because this was the day that Honke Daiichi Asahi was scheduled to open a directly managed ramen shop near the restaurant, and I felt like I had done it. But when I went to Honke Daiichi Asahi Karasuma Branch after the meal, I found that it was temporarily closed (or was the opening postponed?). So it was not a victory of my strategy…

Aside from that, when entering the restaurant, the space stretches long in the back, just like in Kyoto, and there are only 16 counter seats. The restaurant had a chic Japanese-style atmosphere, with one craftsman and two young part-timers quietly running the store. There was no bustle even though it was a ramen shop, just like the name of the restaurant, “Rin”. The fact that the staff escort me to the entrance when I leave the restaurant after finishing my ramen is a sign of hospitality that clearly goes beyond the realm of a ramen shop.

Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto aims to “gather ingredients from all over Japan to create the best ramen”.

Let me introduce the signature dish of Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto, Soy Sauce Ramen (price: 1,300 yen including tax), which I ordered on that day. After handing the ticket to the waiter, it took about 10 minutes for the soy sauce ramen to appear in front of me…

It looks just like the name of the restaurant, “Rin”, with its simple but clear appearance. It certainly has the visual of “Japanese ramen”…

Now, let’s sip the soup… I was surprised when I took a sip. The chicken flavor is amazing. But it’s not like a “thud!” but “rich” is the right word to describe it. The broth for this soup is said to be made from two of Japan’s three great chicken breeds, Hinai Jidori from Akita Prefecture and Nagoya Kochin from Aichi Prefecture. This soup stock is similar to that of Rock ‘n’ Billy S1’s soy sauce ramen in Amagasaki (come to think of it, Rock ‘n’ Billy S1 also uses Hinai Jidori chicken), but the mellowness of the soy sauce makes this dish more elegant.

On the other hand, the noodles are straight thin noodles with high water content. The noodles are also made from a blend of several famous wheat varieties, including “Haruyokoi” and “Kitahonami,” both produced in Hokkaido. The noodles have a smooth surface that makes them easy to slurp, and a fine texture with a supple firmness that can be felt when chewing. Although they are ramen noodles, I felt that they were somewhat similar to Sato Yosuke’s Inaniwa Udon noodles.

The main toppings are two pieces of chashu pork: a Kyoto Poku loin and a low-temperature-cooked rose. Both slices are very thin and paper-thin, but the low-temperature-cooked pork belly has a particularly juicy and sweet taste…a strong impact in a different direction from the voluminous pork.

Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto‘s signature dish, Soy Sauce Ramen, is certainly a cup of ramen that can strongly appeal to people overseas as “this is what Japanese ramen is all about!” I felt that it was a dish that would strongly appeal to people from overseas. There are several other restaurants in Kyoto, such as Menya Inoichi, that draw lines of foreign tourists, but I highly recommend that you try their ramen as well.

However, from a Japanese point of view, the price of 1,300 yen including tax for standard ramen is a bit expensive…. The volume is also small, and I suspect that many people cannot fill all the available space in their stomachs with ramen alone. Well, considering the fact that this is a “high-end ramen” made with premium ingredients gathered from all over Japan, it can be seen as a rather good value… So, in my opinion, this is not a ramen restaurant for everyday use, but a special place to go when you want to get in the mood for a good time…

Other ramen menu items at Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto (prices include tax)

• Soy sauce wonton ramen – 1,550 yen
• Soy sauce chashu ramen: 1,650 yen
• Soy sauce wonton chashu ramen 2000 yen
• Salt ramen 1250 yen
• Salt wonton ramen 1600 yen
• Salt chashu ramen 1,700 yen

Salt wonton chashu ramen 2,050 yen

Nearby Nippon Ramen Rin Hanare offers Miso and Toripaitan Ramen… Access to Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto is a 3-minute walk from the nearest station, Karasuma Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line (Shijo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line).

Nippon Ramen Rin Kyoto is located in close proximity to its affiliate restaurant, Nippon Ramen Rin Hanare. Located on the 8th floor of the Daimaru Kyoto Department Store, this restaurant offers Miso Ramen and Toripaitan Ramen, which are different from Rin Kyoto. Isn’t it nice that these affiliated restaurants offer different flavors of ramen? I think I’ll go there to try Miso Ramen in the cold winter season….

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramens in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…